Book stitcher



Dec. 6, 1938. J. J. GOVERNALE 2,139,118

BOOK STITCHER Filed Sept. 19, 1936 '3 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. J. GOVE RNALE 1BOOK ST'ITCHER Dec. 6, 1938.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 19, 1936 Dec. 6, 1938.

J. J. GOVERNALE 2,139,118

BOOK STITCHE'R Filed Sept. 19, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 7 g zo 70 jg 4a 44 Patented Dec. 6, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in book stitching machines andhas special relation to machines which are adapted for securingassembled sets of signatures together by means of wire staples to formpamphlets. 7

An important object of the invention is to provide such a machine bywhich the pamphlets "to be stitched, that is the assembled signatures,shall be received from a continuously operating assembling machinedelivery conveyor and which machine shall set the pamphlets in stitchingposition one after another and allow them to rest or dwell stationary insuch position during the stitching or stapling operation and thendeliver "the stitched pamphlets to a continuously operating conveyor forfurther operations thereon such for instance as applying covers to thestitched pamphlets. Another object is to provide such a machine whichwill be relatively quiet in operation, which shall be so constructed andoperated that high speed unbalanced rotary mechanisms shall be avoided,with their inherent objectionable features; Whichshall be capable ofbeing produced at a relatively low cost, and which shall be capable ofrapidly stitching or stapling the pamphlets.

The invention resides in a machine of the character mentioned, by whichthe above and other benefits are attained and as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings forming part of this specification, as describedin the following description and as defined in the appended claims.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is. a top plan view of a book stitching mechanism embodying theinvention in a form which I now consider as preferable;

Fig. 2 is a side View of the machine shown in Fig. 1, as seen from thebottom of Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the machine as seen from left hand end of Fig.l; and

Fig. i is an enlarged detail, fragmentary, vertical, sectional view onthe line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

As portrayed in the drawings the book stitchingmachine, per se, isdesignated A, and it is associated with a delivery conveyor B at one endand a removal conveyor C at the opposite end.

The several operating mechanisms, as shown,

may be mounted on a rigid base In comprising side members it and crossmembers l2 rigidly connected together.

My improvements comprise the stitcher A and means whereby the books 13are taken from the conveyor B, set in stitching position on the'stitcher, allowed to remain stationary at the stitching position longenough for the stitching operation, and they are then moved forward intoposition for engagement by the removal con- Veyor C.

The improvements include a stitcher frame 14 mounted on the base 10 andcomprising a front side frame it? a rear side frame i6 and the twoconnected rigidly by suitable cross-bars 11.

The books, or pamphlets l3, represent assembled sets of signatures andthey are carried by the conveyor standing on their backs or rear edgesis on a guide bar or plate I9 and stand vertically on'the bar I9, beingheld in such vertical position by side guide bars 20, which togetherwith the support 19, form a line of travel for the books 13.

The books are carried to the stitcher A by the conveyor B which includesa continuous conveyor chain 2! provided with spaced book engagingprojections which are arranged to push the books along the book guide toa position where they can be engaged by a reciprocating book movingmeans which forms part of the book stitching machine proper. The chainconveyor 21 is trained around a guide sheeve 23 and returns down arounda lower guide sheeve 24 so that the projections iii are carried down outof the line of travel of the books.

The reciprocating book moving mechanism of the stitcher A comprises alongitudinally reciprocating bar 25 which, as shown, is a cylindricalbar and may properly be a piece of tubing. This bar is mounted in guides26 adjacent to the conveyor 33, and .21 adjacent to the conveyor C andis moved longitudinally in proper timed relation to the other mechanismsby a vertical lever 28 pivotally mounted at its lower end at 29 on thebase It and operatively connected to the bar 25 by links 36 whichstraddle the upper end of the lever 28 and the bar 25 and are pivotallyconnected to the bar by means of a sleeve 31 rotatable on the bar andheld between collars 32 which are rigidly secured to the bar. The linksare connected to the sleeve by pivot pins 33.

The lever 28 is swung back and forth to move the bar 25 back and forthby means of a connecting rod 3a, which is pivotally connected at one endto the lever 28 between its ends at 35 and at the opposite end isconnected by a crank pin 36 to a crank disk 31 rotatably secured on across shaft (til.

The bar guides 528 and 21 each comprise a pair of rotatably mountedgrooved guide wheels 39-40 between which the bar 25 is held. The bar 25can be rotated on its axis in the guides 26-41 and within the connection3| to the upper end of the lever 28, The bar carries projections 4| and42 which project at right angles from the bar 25 and are rigidly mountedin collars 43 and 44, respectively, which are adapted to be rigidlysecured in position on the bar 25 as by set screws 45.

These projections are dropped down behind the books when the bar 25 ismoved to the rearward limit of its movement and as the bar is movedforward to move the books forward one step, and are then swung out ofthe path of the books so that they can return to their first posi tionsto engage the next books in the series. I provide means for rocking thebar 25 back and forth through about sixty degrees to move theprojections into and out of the path of the books |3.

For this purpose I provide a toothed pinion 46 secured rigidly on thebar 25 and which meshes with an elongated segmental gear 41 mounted foroscilation on a longitudinally extending shaft 48. The shaft 48 isrotatably mounted in bearings 49 secured to the frame of the stitcher A.

For oscillating the shaft 48 the shaft is provided with a rigid crankarm 50 connected by a link 5| to a crank arm 52 rigidly mounted on alongitudinally arranged shaft 53 carried in suitable bearings on themachine frame. This shaft 53 carries a rigid arm 54 which is providedwith a cam roller 55 on its free end which contacts a cam disk 56rigidly mounted on the shaft 38. The cam disk 56 is arranged to move thecam roller up when the bar 25 reaches the forward limit of itslongitudinal movement and to move it down at the rearward limit of itslongitudinal movement thus moving the projections 4| out of the path ofthe books at the forward limit of movement and down into the path of thebooks at the i=rearward limit of the movement of the bar 25.

The arrangement is such that as the projections 4| and 42 are swung downinto the path of the books they are at the rear ends respectively of abook just deliveredby the conveyor B and also 1 at the rear end of thebook which was left in the stitching position upon the last forwardmovement of the bar 25. While the bar 25 is on its rearward movement thebook in the stitching position is operated upon by stitcher heads 51,which are arranged on the stitcher A and as the construction andoperation of such stitcher heads is well known in the art they need notbe further described herein, except to say that they are adjustable asto their spacing and their number to properly stitch books presented tothem.

Opposite the stitchers 51 is a rigid guide bar 58 which serves as ananvil for the stitching operation.

The book engaging projection 4| moves the books, as delivered by theconveyor B, to the stitching position where they dwell to permit thestitchers to act and then the second book engaging projection 42 engagesthe stitched book and moves it forward one step so that it can beengaged by the removal conveyor C.

The conveyor C, similar to the conveyor B, comprises a conveyor chain 59provided with book engaging projections similar to those on the conveyorchain 2| and the chain is trained around an upper chain wheel 59 wherebythe upper stretch 6|) of the chain passes along adjacent to the path ofthe books and it is also trained around a lower chain wheel 6|. Thearrangement is such that each book engaging projection on the chain 59rises up into the path of the books just after a book has been movedforward by the second projection 42 on the reciprocating bar 25.

For applying power for driving the machine I provide a drive shaft 62which extends transversely of the machine and is mounted in suitablebearings. This shaft is driven at proper speed by any suitable means notshown.

For operatively connecting the drive shaft 62 to the main shaft 38 Imake the disk 31 in the form of a toothed gear and I provide acooperating toothed pinion 63 fixed on the drive shaft.

For the purpose of causing the two conveyors B and C to operate inproper timed relation I operatively connect these conveyors by a chain64 trained around a chain wheel 65 fixed on the shaft 66 of the lowerchain wheel 24 of the conveyor B and a chain wheel 61 fixed on the shaft68 of the lower chain wheel 6| of the conveyor C.

The operation is a step by step movement of the books past the stitchingheads, the books stopping in the stitching position and the stitcherheads operating upon the books during this resting period.

As many modifications of the invention will readily suggest themselvesto one skilled in the art I do not limit or confine the invention to thespecific details of construction and operation herein shown anddescribed except within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The invention herein described and comprising means for moving booksto be stitched step by step along a line of travel past a stitchingposition and including a reciprocal bar, means for moving the barforward and back to an amount equal to the length of one step, a pair ofbook engaging projections rigidly carried by the bar and spaced thereonequal to one step of book advancement, means for partially rotating thebar in one direction at the rearward limit of its movement to engage theprojections behind the books to be moved, and means for partiallyrotating the bar in the opposite direction at the forward limit of itsmovement to disengage the projections from the books, whereby the bookdwells at the stitching position.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, and a delivery conveyor forsetting the books in position to be engaged by one of said projections,and a removal conveyor, the other projection arranged and adapted tomove the books into position to be engaged thereby.

3. In a book stitching machine of the kind described, alongitudinal'book guide-way comprising vertical side walls and a bottomplate, the side walls spaced apart sufficiently to permit the freepassage between them of bunches of signatures in vertical position withtheir backs in contact with said bottom plate, a step by stepreciprocating book advancing conveyor adapted to be moved back and forththe length of one step, arranged and adapted to contact the rear ends ofthe signatures and adapted to push them forward in loose condition.along the guide-way one step from a receiving position to a stitchingposition upon one forward movement thereof, stitching mechanism at thestitching position arranged and adapted to stitch the signaturestogether at the stitching position, said book advancing means alsoarranged and adapted to advance the books along said guide-way a secondstep from the'stitching position to a delivery position upon the nextforward movement thereof after the signatures are stitched together.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3, the reciprocating book advancingmeans provided with an abutment adjacent its rear end adapted to beengaged behind a bunch of signatures at the rear position of the bookadvancing means and with a similar abutment adjacent its forward endadapted to be engaged behind the stitched books at the stitchingposition.

5. In a book stitching machine of the kind described, a substantiallyhorizontal guide way along which books are adapted to be advancedlongitudinally and in vertical position on their back edges in twosuccessive steps, first from a receiving position to a stitchingposition, and second from the stitching position to a removal position,book advancing means including a reciprocating bar arrangedsubstantially parallel with said guide way, means for moving the barback and forth substantially the length of one step, lateral projectionson the bar spaced apart substantially the length of one step, and meansfor positioning said projections in the path of the books and behindsame at the rearward limit of the movement of said bar in position topush the books forward along said guide way and for removing theprojections from the path of the books at the forward limit of themovement of said bar as and for the purpose specified.

6. The invention as defined in claim 3, the step by step reciprocatingbook advancing means comprising a reciprocating longitudinal member, anabutment thereon adapted to be positioned transversely across saidguide-way at the receiving position behind a loosely associated bunch ofsignatures and push them one step forward to a stitching position, and asecond similar abutment thereon adapted to be engaged behind thesignatures at the stitching position and push them one step forward to adelivery position.

JOSEPH J. GOVERNALE.

